Why is Jongno District Office Moving After 83 Years?... New 16-Story Building to be Completed in 2024

Jongno-gu Selects ‘Daerim Building’ and ‘94 Building’ as Temporary Office Sites and Begins Sequential Relocation from the 31st... ‘Welfare Policy Division’, ‘Senior Family Division’, and ‘Smart City Division’ to Relocate First Following January 1 Organizational Restructuring, Starting Work from January 4... Current Office Demolition and Cultural Heritage Excavation Underway, with Construction of Integrated Office Building Started in June 2022; New Building to Have 5 Basement Floors and 16 Above Ground, Targeted for Completion in December 2024

Current Jongno District Office Building

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Jongno-gu (District Mayor Kim Young-jong) has selected the Daelim Building (Jongno 1-gil 36) next to the current office and the nearby 94 Building (Sambong-ro 94) as temporary office sites for the construction of the Jongno-gu integrated office building, and will begin sequential relocation from the 31st.

In order to build the new office on the current site, procedures such as demolition of the existing office and cultural heritage excavation must be carried out, so the relocation to temporary offices must precede.

Accordingly, Jongno-gu has made considerable efforts since June to secure temporary office space, but due to the characteristics of Jongno-gu, located in the heart of downtown Seoul, it has faced difficulties in securing temporary offices due to high rental fees and the lack of large vacant spaces suitable for the district office.

Meanwhile, Daelim Industrial, located next to the district office, is planning to relocate and demolish its current building (Daelim Building) for reconstruction, so Jongno-gu has been continuously negotiating to lease the soon-to-be-demolished Daelim Building at a low cost.

Although there is inconvenience in having to relocate again to another building when reconstruction of the Daelim Building begins, considering the location minimizes inconvenience to residents caused by the temporary office relocation, and if the lease period is extended due to delays in project procedures, it can save tens of billions of won compared to leasing nearby buildings, the relocation was finalized.

Following the organizational restructuring effective January 1, 2021, five departments within the Welfare Economy Bureau, which newly established one division and four teams ? Welfare Policy Division, Elderly and Family Division (newly established), Social Welfare Division, Childcare Support Division, and Job Economy Division ? along with the Smart City Division (newly established) within the Sustainability Bureau, will first relocate to the 7th floor of the Daelim Building and commence operations from January 4 next year. The remaining departments will relocate in phases by March 2021.

Additionally, the other temporary office, the 94 Building (Sambong-ro 94), will house the Jongno District Council, the data center, and the CCTV control center, which require relatively higher relocation costs, until the completion of the new office building.

The district aims to ensure stable legislative activities for council members, minimize budget waste caused by re-relocation, and operate the temporary offices efficiently.

Once the relocation is complete, demolition of the current office and cultural heritage excavation will be conducted, followed by construction of the integrated office building with five basement floors, 16 above-ground floors, and a total floor area of 67,000 square meters.

The district plans to start construction in June 2022 and aims for completion in December 2024.

Daerim Building Selected as Temporary Jongno District Office

The newly constructed integrated office building will serve as a complex cultural space equipped with Jongno District Office, Jongno District Council, Health Center, as well as the Seoul City disaster response control tower including the Fire Joint Office (Fire Disaster Headquarters, Comprehensive Disaster Prevention Center, Jongno Fire Station), and various cultural and convenience facilities for local residents.

District Mayor Kim Young-jong stated, “We have carefully considered and prepared the new office building project for a long time, and are now actively promoting it along with the relocation to temporary offices,” adding, “Based on systematic and prompt relocation, we will minimize inconvenience to residents and provide stable administrative services.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.